Board agrees to $300 base salary increase

By TERESA RESSEL
Daily Journal Staff Writer

Published: Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, July 8, 2009 10:27 AM CDT

Tuesday night’s North County budget meeting turned out to be a small victory in staff’s battle for salaries more comparable to surrounding school districts.

During the meeting which lasted about two and a half hours, Superintendent Dr. Yancy Poorman discussed the upcoming budget and presented three options to the board related to salary schedules.

Board member, Jack Poston, made a motion for another option and the board approved it in a 7-0 vote which drew applause from the more than 50 staff members in attendance.

The board approved a $300 increase to the base for certified staff and an 18 cent increase to the hourly wage for classified staff. It also includes a $250 stipend for a Christmas bonus and more will be added if any additional non-budgeted revenue comes in before November.

With the vote, starting salary will increase to $31,050 while classified starting wage will increase to $8.56 an hour.

Erik Schonhardt, a social studies teacher at the high school who had been representing the teachers, said it is a good start, but it is just a start. He was glad it was a 7-0 vote.

He still thought the staff’s proposal was doable. The proposal presented last month included a $500 increase to the base for certified and a 20 cent increase to classified’s hourly wage.

A Missouri NEA analyst attending the meeting said he told them to ask for more than $500 on the base, pointing out the district had the discretion of using reserves and of not paying off bonds early.

Schonhardt said he is glad the board is talking about tightening the belt.

Originally, Poorman had recommended steps and increments only with no increase to the base. An option Tuesday that was similar to the one approved included a $250 increase to the base and a 15 cent increase for classified.

Poorman didn’t want to use money from the reserves especially for something other than a one-time only expense. He said he didn’t want to go lower than 10 percent in reserves.

On Tuesday night, Poorman said the staff was very cordial, cooperative and understanding.

For years, teachers have complained the district’s salaries don’t compare to surrounding districts. They are the lowest paid in the area.

Poorman said his job is to be stingy. He said they can only dip into their reserves for so long.

Poorman has said he has a plan in place to pay off debt in five or six years and free up money for salaries. He said there would be more money available for raises next year than the upcoming year.

During the meeting, Poorman said health insurance would increase by about $427,000 and an early education program would not be fully funded.

Poorman and Bart Mitchell talked about how TIF districts also take away tax dollars from entities like North County. Poorman said the TIF districts are not something the school district or patrons vote on.

He said when a local TIF district expires in 10 years, they will get more revenue.

Teresa Ressel is a reporter for the Daily Journal and can be reached at 573-431-2010, ext. 179 or at tressel@dailyjournalonline.com.

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